The remains of five American servicemen turned over by Baghdad were en route to the United States on Wednesday as civil unrest in Iraq appeared to threaten efforts to forge a permanent cease-fire. The remains of the Americans, along with those of eight Britons, were flown by the Red Cross earlier from Baghdad to a U.S. military mortuary at the Dhahran air base in Saudi Arabia, where forensics experts examined them.

The Federal Reserve Board, in the latest sign of U.S. concern about the fragility of Japan's banking system, has assured Japanese authorities that if there were a financial crisis it would provide emergency cash infusions to Japanese banks operating in the United States in exchange for the U.S. Treasury securities they hold, according to House Banking Committee Chairman James A. Leach (R-Iowa).

The Bush Administration is planning to start passing the tin cup overseas once again, seeking a new round of financial contributions from foreign governments to help pay for the mounting costs of the U.S. troop deployment in the Persian Gulf, Administration sources said this week.

Should Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa offer to use Japanese foreign aid to help President Clinton rebuild America? That question is the subject of an intense debate in Japanese government circles these days as officials prepare for the first meeting of the two leaders in Washington next week. In what could be a kind of test balloon, the government Export-Import Bank of Japan will announce today its decision to help finance the building of a coal-loading terminal in Los Angeles harbor.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III said Wednesday that the United States and its allies might help rebuild postwar Iraq, but when pressed by members of Congress, he said reparations might be exacted if Iraq fights to the finish in a bloody ground war. "The time of reconstruction and recovery should not be the occasion for vengeful actions against a nation forced to war by a dictator's ambition," Baker told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The war in the Persian Gulf is rapidly drawing to a close. American and coalition troops are liberating Kuwait and trouncing the Iraqi Republican Guard. Now comes the hard part: Getting U.S. allies to help pay for the short but expensive conflict. With the war all but won after just a few days of ground fighting, anger and frustration are rapidly mounting in Congress over the failure of many of the allies to ante up the cash they pledged.

Japanese officials were assembling a new AID PACKAGE to support the gulf war. Tokyo said it would surpass the $4 billion Japan pledged earlier. Japan has been under fire in Washington for being slow in pledging aid. It offered $1 billion in September, then added another $3 billion in response to criticism from the U.S. Congress. Of the $4 billion, half is for the multinational forces and half to help the economies of nations hurt by the gulf crisis.

In cities from Copenhagen to Rome, lights burned late in government offices and citizens sat glued to television sets to catch the first sketchy details of the globe's newest war. And in Tokyo, the Japanese government quickly declared its support for the United States in the gulf war. News of the attack broke shortly after midnight European time, and initial official reaction from America's European allies was cryptic.

President Bush appealed to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama on Monday to provide more help for the United States in the Persian Gulf, but Nakayama offered no new financial commitments beyond Japan's pledge last fall of nearly $2 billion. During a half-hour meeting at the White House, the President "strongly urged Japan to provide the maximum cooperation possible," according to a statement by White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

Japan will make a $5.7 billion contribution to the U.S. Treasury today to help defray U.S. costs for Operation Desert Storm, American and Japanese officials said Thursday. The announcement, shortly after Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama opened official talks here, was one of several indications that the two countries are determined to overcome strains in relations. During a half-hour meeting with Nakayama, President Bush thanked him for Japan's contributions.

Japan and the United States exchanged notes Wednesday formalizing an agreement for the Japanese to pay a bigger share of the cost of stationing U.S. military forces in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said. Under the agreement, which was approved by Parliament, Japan's share will increase from the current 40% of the costs to 50% over five years. The additional money will pay most of the basic wages, overtime pay and benefits of the 22,000 Japanese workers at U.S. military bases in Japan.

President Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu on Thursday in a session laden with warm words about the U.S.-Japanese relationship but no signals of progress on the numerous issues that continue to divide the two nations. Indeed, the two made clear that on at least two issues--Japan's contribution to help defray the costs of the Persian Gulf War and U.S. efforts to sell rice in Japan--the gap remains wide.

Japan will make a $5.7 billion contribution to the U.S. Treasury today to help defray U.S. costs for Operation Desert Storm, American and Japanese officials said Thursday. The announcement, shortly after Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama opened official talks here, was one of several indications that the two countries are determined to overcome strains in relations. During a half-hour meeting with Nakayama, President Bush thanked him for Japan's contributions.

A Japanese diplomat, angered by American criticism of Japan's refusal to play a larger role in the multinational coalition in the Persian Gulf, lashed back Tuesday and blamed the United States for spawning the crisis by refusing to learn how to conserve energy. "It (the crisis) is your (America's) fault," Masamichi Hanabusa, Japanese consul general in New York and Japan's second-highest-ranking diplomat in the United States, told reporters. "You caused the problem."

The remains of five American servicemen turned over by Baghdad were en route to the United States on Wednesday as civil unrest in Iraq appeared to threaten efforts to forge a permanent cease-fire. The remains of the Americans, along with those of eight Britons, were flown by the Red Cross earlier from Baghdad to a U.S. military mortuary at the Dhahran air base in Saudi Arabia, where forensics experts examined them.

The upper house of Parliament approved a $9-BILLION CONTRIBUTION to the U.S.-led Gulf force. The action paved the way for formal passage in Parliament today. Japan is expected to deliver the funds later this month to the Gulf Cooperation Fund, set up last year by six allied Arab nations to distribute Japan's contributions. Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu said he also wants to send personnel to the Gulf to help with peacekeeping operations.

Japan and the United States exchanged notes Wednesday formalizing an agreement for the Japanese to pay a bigger share of the cost of stationing U.S. military forces in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said. Under the agreement, which was approved by Parliament, Japan's share will increase from the current 40% of the costs to 50% over five years. The additional money will pay most of the basic wages, overtime pay and benefits of the 22,000 Japanese workers at U.S. military bases in Japan.

The war in the Persian Gulf is rapidly drawing to a close. American and coalition troops are liberating Kuwait and trouncing the Iraqi Republican Guard. Now comes the hard part: Getting U.S. allies to help pay for the short but expensive conflict. With the war all but won after just a few days of ground fighting, anger and frustration are rapidly mounting in Congress over the failure of many of the allies to ante up the cash they pledged.

A growing squabble threatens to delay a decision on a JAPANESE PLEDGE OF $9 BILLION for the Gulf War and military planes to evacuate refugees stranded in the region. Opposition legislators boycotted Parliament's morning session of debate on the issue but returned to demand that Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu's government limit the $9 billion to non-lethal purposes.